The Jubilee Church, formally known as Chiesa di Dio Padre Misericordioso (Italian for "Church of God the Merciful Father"), is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

and

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

center in

Tor Tre Teste Tor Tre Teste is a district of Rome, Italy, outside the city walls. It is located in Municipio VII along Via Praenestina. It has a population of 12,176.Comune di Roma - Ufficio di Statistica. Iscritti in anagrafe al 31-12-2008. The area was part ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. According to

Richard Meier Richard Meier (born October 12, 1934) is an American abstract artist and architect, whose geometric designs make prominent use of the color white. A winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1984, Meier has designed several iconic buildings ...

, its

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, it is "the crown jewel of the Vicariato di Roma's (Archdiocese of Rome)

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

project" (p. 354). The Church serves eight thousand residents of the Tor Tre Teste area and was meant to socially "revive" Tor Tre Teste. Meier was selected as the architect as winner of a competition that included famous architects such as

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considered ...

Santiago Calatrava Santiago Calatrava Valls (born 28 July 1951) is a Spanish architect, structural engineer, sculptor and painter, particularly known for his bridges supported by single leaning pylons, and his railway stations, stadiums, and museums, whose sculpt ...

and Tadao Ando in 1996.

The site

The Church's site is divided into four main parts: first, the precinct, including the church and community center; second, the northeast

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

; third, the northwest

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...

court; fourth, the west parking area.

Design and construction

Designed to look like a ship, the south side of the church features three large curved

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...

s of pre-cast

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

. (The walls form segments of

sphere A sphere () is a Geometry, geometrical object that is a solid geometry, three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...

s.) Meier claims to have designed the church to minimize thermal peak loads inside. The large

thermal mass In building design, thermal mass is a property of the mass of a building that enables it to store heat and provide inertia against temperature fluctuations. It is sometimes known as the thermal flywheel effect. The thermal mass of heavy structura ...

of the concrete walls control internal heat gain; the result is less

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...

variation, and supposedly more efficient use of

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

. The walls are coated with a

titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania , is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or CI 77891. It is a white solid that is insolubl ...

-based cement (also known as

Photocatalytic In chemistry, photocatalysis is the acceleration of a photoreaction in the presence of a catalyst. In catalyzed photolysis, light is absorbed by an adsorbed substrate. In photogenerated catalysis, the photocatalytic activity depends on the abi ...

cement), to keep the appearance of the church white and free of plant-growth. Enrico Borgarello, the director of research and development for

Italcementi Italcementi is an Italian multinational company, quoted on the Borsa Italiana, which produces cement, ready-mix concrete and construction aggregates. In 2015, 45% of Italcementi was acquired by HeidelbergCement, together forming the world's secon ...

, the company that designed the cement, claims that the cement destroys air pollution. According to Borgarello:

"When the
titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania , is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or CI 77891. It is a white solid that is insolubl ...
absorbs
ultraviolet light Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation i ...
, it becomes powerfully reactive, breaking down pollutants that come in contact with the concrete. It is particularly good at attacking the noxious gases that come out of a cars exhaust pipe."

Cardinal protectors

Crescenzio Sepe Crescenzio Sepe (born 2 June 1943) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Naples from 2006 to 2020. He served in the Roman Curia as Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 2001 to 200 ...

(cardinal-deacon 2001–2006; cardinal-priest ''

pro hac vice In the legal field, ''pro hac vice'' () is a practice in common law jurisdictions whereby a lawyer who has not been admitted to practice in a certain jurisdiction is allowed to participate in a particular case in that jurisdiction. Although ''pro ...

'' 2006–present)

References

* Meier, R. & Frampton, K. & Rykwert, J. & Holl, S. (2004). ''Richard Meier Architect''. New York: Rozzoli International Publications, Inc.

External links

Official website

Photos of exterior and interior of church
{{Authority control Dio Padre 21st-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Richard Meier buildings Rome Q. XXIII Alessandrino Roman Catholic churches completed in 2005

The site

Design and construction

Cardinal protectors

See also

References

Further reading

External links